Vol. 7, Issue 3 (2019)
Soil health management in relation to climate change: A review
Author(s): Pushpa Yadav
Abstract: Climate change refers to any change in climate over time due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. The main cause of climate change is the increased emission of green house gases like CO2 (70%), CH4 (27%), N2O (3%), CFCs etc. The major effects of climate change influence the productivity of natural ecosystem. The fourth assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made it clear that the global average temperature has increased by 0.74 0C over last 100 years and projected to increase about 1.1 to 6.4 0C by 21st century. Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes and global warming is projected to have significant impact on agricultural by influencing through direct and indirect effect on crops, soil, livestock and pests. Soil health is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, by recognizing that it contains biological elements that are key to ecosystem function within land-use boundaries. These functions are able to sustain biological productivity of soil, maintain the quality of surrounding air and water environments, as well as promote plant, animal, and human health. Soil health indicators are a composite set of measurable physical, chemical and biological attributes which relate to functional soil processes and can be used to evaluate soil health status, as affected by management and climate change drivers. Defining soil health in relation to climate change should consider the impacts of a range of predicted global change drivers such as rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, elevated temperature, altered precipitation (rainfall) and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, on soil chemical, physical and biological functions. Elevated CO2 concentration, increasing temperature, atmospheric N deposition and changes in total and seasonal distribution of rainfall and extreme events such as droughts and floods will impact on soil biological processes, C and N cycling, and consequently on soil structure and erosion events, nutrient availability and plant diseases, and hence on ecosystem functionality and agricultural productivity. Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key process in mitigation practice to climate change as most recommended management practices. Management strategies that sequester carbon in soil, reduce soil erosion and green house gas emission, conserve soil moisture, maintains soil temperature and enhance soil fertility should be adopted to cope up the impact of climate change on soils.
Pages: 4033-4043 | 478 Views 135 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Pushpa Yadav. Soil health management in relation to climate change: A review. Int J Chem Stud 2019;7(3):4033-4043.
